Lentil Medley

I only recently had lentils for the first time. Though I do not eat them often, they make a great versatile filler to almost any meal. This dish can either be served as a side or a main dish and goes together quickly and spends most of its time simmering.

• 2TB safflower oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion,chopped
• 2c carrots, chopped
• 1c uncooked lentils
• 1 bunch kale, chopped
• 2c veggie stock
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 TB olive oil

1. Heat safflower oil over medium heat then add garlic and onion. Continue to heat until fragrant.
2. Add carrots and  cook until tender. Add lentils and stir until coated. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add vegetable stock, tomatoes and kale. Let cook until kale starts to wilt. Add pepper and bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for about 30-45 minutes. Stirring occasionally. 
4. When lentils are almost tender, remove cover and increase heat and continue to cook until liquid is mostly evaporated. 
5. Remove from heat and let sit for 5minutes. Add lemon juice and oil, toss and enjoy! 

Don't worry if you have leftovers, these are the perfect addition to salads, soups and wraps! 

Not Yo Mama's Shepard Pie

Shepard's pie takes me back to the days that I was a "little Dan" and sitting out the table with my family enjoying a home cooked meal, courtesy of my mom. Being vegetarian does not mean that I have to miss out on these things or that I have to always substitute soy/quorn/seitan if I want to enjoy these foods. Vegetables are not only a fine substitute, but could be considered a preferred alternative. I will always have a special place for my mom's cooking and now I have adapted her recipes to make them my own.

"Meat" Filling

• 1TB safflower oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 8oz baby bella mushrooms, diced
• 1 carrot, chopped
• ground sage
• 1c cooked lentils (optional)
• 1 tomato, chopped
• i jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)

"Creamed" Corn

•  2 ears of corn, washed and kernals removed
• 1 small yellow squash, diced
• 1TB apricot preserves
• salt and pepper to taste

 Top Layer

• 1/2 head of cauliflower, coarse chopped
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and coarse chopped
• 1-2TB almond milk
• Paprika

How it's Made...

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place cauliflower and parsnips in medium pan with a thin layer of water, cover and heat over medium heat for 15 minutes.
2. In another frying pan, heat safflower oil over medium heat, add carrots and cook until almost tender then add mushrooms, garlic and sage.
3.  Continue to cook until mushrooms are soft then add cooked lentils and tomato. When the tomatoes start to break down, add pepper and continue to cook until most of the liquid is gone (about 10-15 minutes). Place this is the bottom of eight 1c ramekins.
4. Once cauliflower and parsnips are done cooking, drain most of the water and whip until smooth with a little almond milk (you can use soy butter too). Then set aside. 
5. Heat corn over medium heat with a little salt. When corn begins to break down, add preserves and continue to cook until "creamy." Place this over the mushroom layer.
6. Top ramekins with cauliflower mixture and sprinkle with paprika [just like mom used to do :-) ].
7. Bake for 25 minutes- I placed mine on the top rack so that the top layer got a bit of crunch. 

This was an awesome recipe and the ramekins make it perfect for portion control and to brink leftovers for lunch. Feel free to play around and add other vegetables and let me know how it worked out with you. For those of you whom are not vegetarian/vegan, I would absolutely recommend adding a little goat butter to the top layer.

Hope you enjoy!

Tempting Thai Wraps

If there is one thing that I love more than Italian food, it's basically anything asian, Though I am more fond of Vietnamese flavors, Thai is a close second. These wraps are quick, easy and satisfying.

Peanut Sauce

• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1c peanut/almond butter
• 2 TB fish sauce/soy sauce (optional)
• red pepper flakes, to taste

1. Heat coconut milk over medium heat until uniform then add red pepper flakes and heat for 2 minutes.
2. Add peanut butter and stir until smooth then add fish sauce. 
3. Continue to heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes, stir then enjoy.

Filling

• 1 package of firm tofu
• shredded cabbage
• shredded carrots
• bean sprouts
• diced scallions
• thai basil
• wraps

1. Cut tofu into 1cm x 1cm strips and place into a 350 degree over for 30-40minutes until golden brown around the edges. Remove from pan and set aside. 
2.  place veggies and herbs in wrap, lay tofu across and top with peanut sauce. Roll up and enjoy!

 Note: Another option is to lightly marinate the cabbage in fish sauce if you like a little bit more salt.

Broccoli-Carrot Casserole

So we are finally moved into our new home and getting unpacked. For a while there, we were living in two houses. All of our furniture and cook wear was in the new house and our food in the other. It seemed no matter where I went  I was denied a home cooked meal. That's okay because we are settled enough to resume our normal cooking regime.

Since we've started eating more home cooked meals with fewer ingredients and mostly vegetarian, I've noticed that I feel better and have more energy. While we were moving, I realized how easy it is to fall back into old habits. I found that I was eating more processed "on the go" meals and that my body was starting to feel out of wack. My husband was diagnosed with Gilbert's Syndrome and it was indicated that it would beneficial for him to adopt a more natural life style.

Though Gilbert's Syndrome is primarily asymptomatic, there is a small percentage, of the 5% (mostly males) of the population that have this genetic trait, that actually exhibit issues. Taking a second to back up, Gilbert's Syndrome is the body's inability to break down bilirubin, which is excreted by the liver as a biproduct of the liver after the body has metabolized hemoglobin. It is then passed through bile and urine.

In Gilbert's Sydrome, bilirubin is not expelled from the body and is reabsorbed into the blood stream. This can cause yellowing of the skin. However, in rare cases it can lead to lethargy, muscle pain, and inability to focus. As long as I have my husband (almost 5 years) he has been a space case and experienced varying degrees of pain. However, it sounds as though this could have been the underlying cause to his issues.

There is no cure to Gilbert's Syndrome and very little is done to treat it because it is not seen as a serious ailment. I do not know if that is really the case because many of the symptoms can be cross referenced with other ailments that the drug industry is shoveling pills. We actually thought that Dominic had chronic fatigue syndrome or some other nerve problem. It is actually a good thing that his doctor didn't just write him a script because this gives us motivation to move forward with a lifestyle change that is long overdue.

For those who do have symptoms, they can be relieved through diet. By eliminating processed foods, gluten and lactose, it can offset the severity of symptoms and that is exactly what we did. For the last month and a half, we have tried to limit these items and eat more raw foods and it has made all the difference. Though Dom still experiences pain and all of the issues with his stomach have not been resolved, he seems more alert and less sleepy all the time. I am hopeful that the longer we keep this up, the better we all will feel and that is why is important to fall victim to old habits. I am not saying that anyine should dwell on not being perfect, but it is important to see the big picture of the benefits that will come from making a this sort of change.

• 4 TB coconut oil
• 1 bunch broccoli, chopped
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped 
• 1c veggie broth
• 3/4c parboiled rice
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2c dairy free sour cream
• 1ts mustard powder
• 1TBhorseradish paste
• 1c non-dairy shredded cheese
• 1/4c gluten free bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Heat oil over medium heat and saute broccoli, carrots, and onions onions. Add broth and rice and set aside.
3. Mix the next 5 ingredients in a bowl and add to veggie mixture. Stir until mixed.
4. Sprinkle the top with crumbs.
5. Bake covered for 30 minutes, uncover,move to top rack and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Tip: I used a saute pan that can be baked to reduce the number of dishes and making this a quick and easy weekday meal.